Before All Was Well
by Miss Millie T
Summary: Felicity was in her seventh year at Hogwarts, topping all of Gryffindor House scores, managing mischief and easily following her dream to become a Potions Master. This year they are implementing a Student Exchange program with the other two main schools in Europe, will this exchange change everything for Lizzie, her family, and her future. Please review!
1. Prologue

A/N

Hi I wanted to thank you all in advance for reading this fic! I have been slaving away at it for days and am excited to finally be able to share it with you. Most of the main characters in this fic are based off of my family and friends and I look forward to sharing them with you.

I want to start by thanking my resident Slytherin for typing up the original draft of this prologue and for all of his input and advice throughout the whole process of writing "Before All Was Well".

I am sad to announce that though I am the owner and creator of the storyline (though I do not hold sole credit, as I mentioned above), I am not J.K. Rowling and do not own any character that you recognize by name nor do I own Hogwarts.

Now without further ado, "Before All Was Well".

Prologue

Lewis inhaled sharply as he stumbled through the wall and on to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters for the first time. Despite his parents' assurances that he would pass through the barrier, and not bash his head in and fall unconscious, the young wizard had still harboured a few small doubts. It seemed that his parents were right though, and he had crossed from the Muggle station of King's Cross into the magical hustle and bustle of the wizarding world. Frankly, it was a breath of fresh air even after his short journey to the station.

The eleven year old had not yet done any magic, unless you counted the time he accidently hit his brother with an expelliarmus charm when he was eight, and after growing up with both parents in the Ministry, and being constantly surrounded by it, he was eager to learn as much as he could. Lewis was sure it would let him get away with even more things than he already had, and the potential he could feel at his fingertips was making him giddy with excitement.

Snapping back to the present, he remembered what else his parents had said, which was to get out the way as quick as possible, so that he wouldn't get run down by someone else coming through the wall. With a slight glance behind him and a side step, he neatly avoided a family of three who burst through with a trunk on a trolley in front of them. The group consisted of a young girl, probably about his age, and her parents, one of which was gaping at his surroundings as if he had never seen anything of the like before. After a few more moments of watching Lewis realised he probably hadn't. What was a muggle doing on the platform? It caught his attention for a minute until he realised with a start that his trunk was missing.

Bother. He was an idiot, and had left it at King's Cross. As the small family beside him walked away, he looked back towards the barrier. Would it let him back through the same way? It would make sense, but sometimes magic wasn't sensible. Lewis stood debating, but was suddenly interrupted by his trunk appearing his owl's cage on top. It stopped for a moment, then found Lewis and trotted over to stand beside him. The walking piece of furniture was a family heirloom, and his father had used it during his years at Hogwarts. Traditionally passed down to the eldest child, Lewis had inherited it, and would no doubt end up giving it to his firstborn when they went to Hogwarts as well.

Now that he had accounted for his trunk and his owl, the young wizard made his way towards the waiting locomotive. It was quite an elegant machine, especially since it ran entirely on magic. His eyes ran over the powerful red engine, and the passenger cars hooked up behind it. His mother had told him stories of the Hogwarts Express, and even given him a galleon and some sickles in case he wanted to buy some snacks on the way. He had decided to save it though, since he would probably find a better use for it once he arrived. What it was he had no idea, but Lewis believed in being ready for anything.

That family with the muggle was standing in the middle of the platform, and although he was being a bit more subtle about it, the father was still gaping. The girl's mother was trying to simultaneously explain everything, and get her spouse to close his mouth, and their daughter was giggling at it all. A small smile crossed Lewis' face, amusement mixed with a small amount of contempt. Who was that old, married to a witch, and hadn't seen the Platform before? With another look around the station, the Gaines boy grasped his owl's cage, boarded the train and began his search for an empty compartment. He wasn't too fond of large crowds, and wanted to enjoy the journey to Hogwarts on his own.

Lewis spent some time settling in and making sure his belongings were secure, when he was disturbed by the sound of the door to his compartment opening. The girl from the platform stood there, long blonde hair flowing over a green pullover. He looked up to see her staring shyly at him with blue eyes framed by rectangular glasses. "Do you want something?" He asked brusquely. The girl immediately looked a bit hurt, and he caught himself, speaking in a gentler tone, "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."

"Oh, it's… It's ok. Do you mind if I sit in here with you?" She spoke softly.

Lewis replied, "Yeah, of course. Come on in." He had wanted to be alone, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings too much. After all, she did have to put up with a muggle father. She set down her cat carrier, pulled her trunk in and sat down on the seat opposite him, looking out at the station. He looked at her for a second, observing her behaviour, before asking, "So, what's your name?"

She smiled at him, "Felicity McBree. What's yours?"

"I'm Lewis Gaines." He stuck out his hand the way his father had taught him, and she shook it firmly. "Nice to meet you."

"Is this your first year at Hogwarts?" She asked

"First year. Yours too, right? I'm quite excited to see what it's like. My mum's told me a lot of stories," He said, a grin appearing on his face. His fingers tapped a rhythmic pattern on his newly bought robes. He was very obviously eager to arrive at the school.

Felicity said, "Oh, me too! I really want to see what my classes are like!" Her shyness seemed to dissipate a bit as she talked about the school, "And I want to explore the school. I've heard lots of stories of how the stairs move, and the hallways change. It sounds really fun."

Her travelling companion suppressed a sigh, "What if you got lost though? That wouldn't be fun at all."

She paused to consider this for a moment, then shrugged. "I suppose. I'll just have to be careful with how I do it." Her glasses fell down a bit and she reached up to adjust them, "Anyway, I'm plenty smart enough to find my way there."

"If you say so, Felicity." The first year wizard had his doubts, but figured he'd be better off keeping them to himself. He jumped a bit as the train started with a jerk, and gave off a loud whistle. "And here we go…" He said under his breath.

Felicity was waving frantically to her parents as the train pulled away, and then collapsed against the seat. "Well," she smiled at Lewis, "This seems like it'll be a good year."

A/N

Thank you so much for reading! I will do my best to update at least every other week. Please let me know what you think! I crave your input!

Love,

Millie 3


	2. Chapter 1

A/N

I know announcements suck, but they are a necessary evil. First, I want to thank my dear friend, Mirabitur, for betaing this for me and improving its quality greatly. Second, I'd like to thank you all for reading my story and I hope you continue and enjoy. Lastly, I need to say that as much as it saddens me, I do not own Hogwarts or any of J.K. Rowling's original characters or ideas and it bites. Thanks again and without further ado, Chapter 1

Felicity watched with amusement as her sisters flinched as they and their parents passed through the barrier between platforms nine and ten and onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. She shook her head then she watched her brothers enter the platform one after the other before pushing her own trolley thorough the barrier.

"Lizzie!" cried a small voice from near the center of the platform. Felicity turned and saw her smallest sister, Amelia, waving her over. The seventh-year smiled and hurried over to where her family was waiting. The Platform was as bustling and bright as it was the first time she was on it. Looking around she saw her fellow seventh-years saying goodbye to their parents as well. Just as she caught sight of two black-haired boys standing next to one another talking on the platform near the train her eyes were covered from behind.

"Guess who," laughed a voice from behind.

Liz squealed happily. "Max!" She spun around and threw her arms around her tall friend. Maximilian Bamford had been her friend since he knocked her out with a jinx during dueling club in third year. Standing next to him was one of her other close friends, Katarina Hale, a tall Ravenclaw that had beaten Felicity's potions scores every year since before their OWLs were posted.

Kat pushed Max out of the way to give Liz a hug. "I can't believe I haven't seen you all summer!"

"I know," Liz squeezed Kat. "How was Italy?"

"It would have been better with you." She dismissed. The three of them carried on about their summers for some time before the train whistled and Liz's friends turned to say goodbye to their parents.

"Lizzie," began her father, "I canno' begin to tell you how proud of you I am. When you were born I'd have ne'er imagined the great which you'd become." He began to tear, but he quickly covered it with a chuckle. "Plus, I canno' wait to see Hogwarts, all these years an' magic still amazes me."

Liz laughed and hugged her father, "I love you Da. I'll be sure to graduate so you can go to the ceremony." He laughed and spun her around. The train whistled its final warning as he set her down and she turned to her mother, who enveloped her in a warm hug.

"You've done very well, my dear, and I know you will continue to be extraordinary." Her mum kissed her cheek and hugged her one last time.

As her mother went over to say goodbye to the rest of her children, Lizzie picked up Amelia. "I'll miss you when I'm away, Millie."

"I'll miss you too," the little girl cried, burying her face in Liz's neck.

Felicity spun her around, trying to get her to laugh, "I promise to write."

Amelia smiled through her tears and nodded. Liz ruffled the small girl's golden curls before handing her off to their mum and kissing them again.

"You'll write us too, I hope," teased her da.

She stuck out her tongue as she picked up her new owl's cage and climbed onto the train. "Of course I will. I have an owl, don't I?"

Liz missed what her father's surely sarcastic remark as she turned into the carriage to her left where she saw Kat and Max waiting for her. She took only a step before her wrist was caught. Looking back she saw that it was her brother, Quincy.

"When?" He asked her simply, knowing no further explanation was necessary.

"I'll come and knock ten minutes before, alright?" Quincy nodded and headed off in the other direction after his friends.

"I'll be waiting." He called over his shoulder before the doors between the carriages closed.

A/N

A short and sweet goodbye, hopefully I'll see you all soon. Please rate and review.

Yours,

Millie 3


	3. Chapter 2

Sorry about the long wait everyone. It has been really hectic here, hopefully I'll be able to get more done in the coming weeks. Thank you so much to my beta,Mirabitur and thanks to all of you for reading!

Chapter 2

"What do you think she'll ger up to this year?" Max asked Kat, recalling the shenanigans of the past six years.

"Nothing good, I'm sure." Kat laughed.

Felicity opened the compartment at the at exact moment, "Talking about me again, Max?"

Max's smirk was all the answer she needed. Liz shook her head and sat next to Kat before kicking him in the shin. He inhaled sharply through his teeth and cursed. Liz shot him a winning smile in response to his glare.

Kat decided to step in before things got ugly between the two. "When did you get an owl, Lizzie?"

"Last week in Diagon Alley. His name is Killian." She reached through the bars and wiggled a finger at the large speckled owl who softly hooted and nipped playfully at the digit. "Isn't he lovely?"

Max leaned over to wiggle his finger at the owl, only to jerk them back quickly as Killian snapped at them.

"Good by." Liz said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a treat for the bird.  
"Bloody hell, Liz." Max complained, checking his fingers for scrapes.

Liz chuckled, but otherwise ignored Max's comment. She then turned and began a conversation with Kat about the potions she'd been practicing over the summer.

* * *

Almost four hours later, Quincy was talking to the female Ravenclaw prefect about rounds when he heard a tapping on the window of his compartment. He looked up to see Liz who smiled and waved before walking down the train towards the snake pit.

He turned back towards his fellow prefect and picked up where their conversation had left off. She had been complaining about being paired with her ex boyfriend, a fifth year Hufflepuff prefect.

"Well, Jules, I'm sure if you go and talk this over with Isabella she'll let you switch partners." The Head Girl really did make some awful pairings for prefect rounds this year.

"You really think so? She seemed really adamant about not changing partners except in emergencies."

"Yeah, but I'd do it now before she turns the partner assignments in to Professor McGonagall." He smiled.

Jules nodded. "I think I will talk to her, thanks for listening." Quincy nodded and watched as she stood up and went in search of the Head Girl.

After Jules left, Quincy took out his want and waved it from left to right across his chest "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He said under his breath. Felicity had found the phrase scratched into the wood under the brim of one of the seat cushions. He smirked as the compartment lengthened itself and an extra seat appeared under the window. With his part done for the time being, he plopped down onto one of the seats and adjusted his hat. There was nothing left to do but wait for Liz to return from the pit with the prince of snakes himself.

* * *

While Quincy was getting rid of his companion and setting up their meeting place, Felicity walked jauntily to the snake pit. She loved the looks on all of the female Slytherins faces whenever she came to steal her best friend from them. When she finally reached the car that housed the Slytherins, she paused to look and see what she was up against.

The ceremoniously dubbed "snake pit" was unlike the rest of the cars on the Howarts Express. It wasn't separated into compartments, it was one large open room, benches set at intervals and a luggage rack running along the top.

Through the window in the door, Felicity say Lewis and his brother, Rodane, sitting near the center of the car. The boy sitting opposite of the brothers said something and the whole group began to laugh. Felicity hoped that what he said hadn't been about Gryffindor. She decided that she'd better make an entrance, just in case it had been. She let her hair down from its high bun and shoook her head as the long golden-blonde locks danced around her waist.

Liz checked through the window one last time and she smiled as she opened the door. She then proceeded to walk confidently down the aisle to where the brothers were sitting. The group quieted as she approached, and when she sat down next to Lewis, a few pairs of eyes widened. Rodane looked at her with a sneer on his face, "What's she doing here?"

"Oh, the usual, I expect," said Lewis with a bored tinge to his voice, "Sticking her nose where it doesn't belong." The Slytherins sitting around him smirked, and a few quiet chuckles were heard.

One of them spoke out derisively, "Ger out of here Gryffindork. Go back where you belong."

With a cold stare and a motion of his hand, Lewis quieted the offender, "I'll deal with her, thank you. Be quiet, Valeri." Valeri shrank back a bit, but stayed quiet. No one wanted to upset the seventh year too much. Felicity remained seated on the arm of the bench next to Lewis, waiting for him to stand.

"They'll be off to cause some trouble, most likely." Rodane muttered, with another disdainful glance at the girl who had intruded into their territory.

Lewis nodded and stood, "You're right, brother. I've a plan to sort out, and the half-bloods come in useful from time to time." Sweeping his gaze across the assembled witches and wizards, he nodded, "I'll see you all when we reach Hogwarts. Rodane, you're in charge if anything happens." With that, he strode off confidently, Liz by his side.

When they made it into the next carriage Liz stopped, and Lewis looked at her expectantly. She glared at him for a moment before punching him in the shoulder.

"You really ought to learn how to hit properly," He chuckled, before continuing down the corridor towards the compartment where Quincy waited.

"I hate you." Liz grumbled before smiling and following him.

That's all for this chapter, tahnks again for reading! Hopefully chapter three will be up soon. Please review and let me know what you think!

Love,

Millie 3


	4. Chapter 3

Hey everyone, sorry about the late update, I hit a huge writer's block over the holidays and finally managed to get back with it. So I won't make you wait any longer, here's chapter three:

It was hours later when the three friends finally emerged from the expanded carriage, now shrunk back to its original size. Felicity and Lewis left Quincy to fulfill his prefect duties and herd second years to the carriages. They stepped off the train and could hear Hagrid calling for the first years, ready to take them to the boats for their first glimpse of the castle.

Felicity smiled as she caught sight of a familiar head of brown hair darting past. Her baby sister, Cammia, raced her new friends down the platform towards Hagrid with the rest of the first years. The two seventh years then shouldered their way through the crowd and down the lane. As they came upon the carriages, Lizzie spotted Rodane leaning against a carriage. He stood straight as soon as he saw his brother.

"Are you going to ride with me?" Liz asked the brothers flippantly as she climbed into the self-drawn carriage. Lewis shrugged and the two boys climbed up behind her. The three of them sat in the carriage waiting for it to move towards the castle. Felicity pulled her advanced potion making book from her bag and began to browse it, only looking up when she heard the door open.

Liz faintly recognized the girl as a sixth year Hufflepuff. The girl was only an inch or so shorter than Liz with deep brown hair and sparkling blue-green eyes. She smiled shyly up into the carriage, "The rest are full, might I join you?"

"Of course," Felicity answered, Lewis scoffed softly and Rodane rolled his eyes. "Ignore them," she said, making space on her bench for the shorter girl to join them. "I'm Felicity, that's Lewis and his brother, Rodane." She introduced, gesturing to her companions.

"I'm Noella Moore. It's nice to meet you both." She smiled brightly and climbed into the carriage, sitting in the space Felicity had made for her. The door closed and the carriage lurched into motion.

Lewis looked at her with obvious disdain, "I didn't ask for your name."

"Be quiet, you." Felicity kicked his shin lightly and smiled apologetically at the Hufflepuff.

Noella smiled back and pulled out a bag of crystallized pineapple. "I know we're going to have the feast at the castle, but would you like one?" She offered before she popped one into her mouth.

Liz opened her mouth to reply but all that came out was a string of gibberish. She immediately turned to glare at Lewis who was staring out the window, his expression schooled into one of boredom and Rodane covered his laugh with a cough. She waited a moment before stomping a foot to get his attention. When he continued to ignore her she began berating him angrily in gibberish.

The carriages pulled up to the doors of the castle and the students hurried into the Great Hall, knowing that the sorting couldn't begin until all were seated. The Great Hall rumbled with the voices of the older students catching up with each other as they awaited the arrival of the first years. It had taken a lot of angry babbling, but Lewis finally relented and returned Felicity's speech to normal. The group had dispersed as soon as they entered the Great Hall and were now all sitting at their respective House tables.

"Here they come," whispered Seamus, Liz's youngest brother and fellow Gryffindor, as he pointed to the slowly opening doors. The Hall slowly quieted as each student turned to watch the new students enter.

Many of the young witches and wizards looked around the Hall in awe, the high ceiling that seems to reach into the sky and the floating candles catching most of their eyes. A few of the new students, however, looked not up, but around at the older students, searching for the familiar faces of their siblings.

Liz quickly picked her tall, brown-haired sister out of the line of first years, even though she was looking the other way, searching the Ravenclaw table. She watched as Cammia lifted her hand in silent salute towards Quincy before turning towards the Gryffindors and almost immediately locking eyes with Liz. Liz could see the fear hiding in Cami's eyes, but she nodded encouragingly and placed a hand on her heart, silently reassuring her sister. Cami returned the gesture and smiled, her fears disappearing.

The Hall had slowly filled with the buzz of whispered conversations as the students would be sorted into their House. The whispers continued as Professor Longbottom brought forth the rickety three-legged stool and set the Sorting Hat on top.

The nervous looking first years glanced around as the hall once again grew silent, as though in anticipation. Suddenly the old and patched hat split open at the seam and began to sing.

Liz listened closely to the hat as its voice echoed around the great room trying to parse some kind of meaning from its words. It included the typical introduction of the four houses, as it did every year, but toward the end it started talking about how the years ahead would shape us all in ways we would not expect. Liz was unsure if the hat meant this year specifically or if it was more of a general statement. The song ended soon after and there was a moment of silence before the thunderous applause burst forth from the crowd. It carried on until Headmistress McGonagall stood, the students slowly quieted as she walked from behind the head table with a scroll in her hand.

She stood next to the stool and spoke quietly to the first years, she unrolled the scroll and read from it, "Phoebus Ashdown."

A boy with sandy blonde hair stepped forward tentatively and perched on the rickety stool. The sorting hat had barely sat upon his head before it cried "Hufflepuff!" The aforementioned house cheered and shouted as Phoebus hopped off the stool, returned the hat and ran to the cheering Hufflepuffs.

"Sergius Bletchly," Read out the headmistress and the brown-haired boy stepped up to the stool with confidence.

The Sorting Hat seemed to discuss a few things with the boy before crying out "Slytherin!" Liz watched him stride to the cheering table before the next name was called.

And so the sorting went; the next name called was Jace Broadskye, who was sorted into Gryffindor. He was welcomed with thunderous applause. Next was a small girl with short white-blonde hair, Bria Copeland, who was placed in Ravenclaw.

"Well this is going to take forever," Seamus muttered to Liz who nodded as her stomach growled.

"How much longer 'til we reach 'M'?" Liz groaned, she usually didn't pay much attention to the sorting, but this year was different

Thanks for reading, sorry about the cliffhanger, but hopefully I'll start grinding out chapters and I'll be able to start posting them more regularly.

Yours,

Millie


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